Competition: UEFA Europa League 2016-17
Date: Thursday, 16th February, 20:05 GMT
Stadium: El Madrigal.
Sports Livestream ⚽ JOIN NOW for FREE
Instant access to the BT Sport, Sky Sports and Eurosport
Villarreal v Roma match stats
Spanish side Villarreal have managed just one win in their last nine matches
Roma meanwhile have won eight of their last nine outings in all competitions
Bosnian forward Edin Dzeko has scored 25 goals for La Maggica so far this term
Villarreal v Roma betting preview
Villarreal are battling for qualification to European competition once again from Spain’s top tier. El Submarino Amarillo are currently occupying sixth spot, but recent form has been less than impressive in the league and as well as recently being knocked out of the Copa Del Rey, the Castellon-based outfit have failed to win five of their last six La Liga outings.
In the group stages of this competition, Fran Escriba’s men relied on home victories in matches against Zurich and Steaua Bucharest at what is now known as Estadio de la Ceramic as they struggled on the road and as such, the 51 year old will know that a win in the home leg of this tie on Thursday night is vital at odds of 13/8 with William Hill.
Once again Roma look like being the ‘best of the rest’ in Italy’s Serie A. La Maggica have been performing well in the league for a few years now, but they don’t seem to have the capability of catching Juventus, who remain the dominant force in the division under Massimiliano Allegri, but again the men from the capital find themselves seven points behind in second place.
After losing out in their Champions League play-off against Porto, Luciano Spaletti’s men were confident and comfortable in their Europa League group, drawing three and winning three of their six games at this stage and interestingly, they found the net four times in each of those three victories. Being away from home, they are slight underdogs here at 9/5 with Ladbrokes.
As the odds indicate, this is a tough match to call. Villarreal have the home advantage, but Roma are slightly stronger on paper and they’ve been in better form in recent weeks. The Spanish side have drawn six of their last nine games in all competitions and they also drew three of their group stage games too, so odds of 23/10 with Sky Bet for the draw look tempting.
If you’re looking at the goalscoring markets in this game, look no further than Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko. The 30 year old forward has been in terrific form for Roma this season, smashing in 25 goals in all competitions, including five goals in this tournament so far. We can’t resist odds of 31/20 with BetVictor for another goal at any time from the ex-Manchester City man in this game.
Recommended bets:
Match to be drawn
Edin Dzeko to score at any time
